MS/MS analysis (tandem mass analysis) is one of the known mass analysis techniques available to identify and/or quantify a target compound included in a sample. The MS/MS analysis may be performed with a mass spectrometer equipped with a front-stage mass separator, a collision cell, and a rear-stage mass separator. The front-stage mass separator selects, as precursor ions, ions of a particular mass-to-charge ratio. The collision cell dissociates the precursor ions and produces product ions. The rear-stage mass separator selectively allows passage of the product ions of a particular mass-to-charge ratio.
MRM measurement is one of methods for measurement used in the MS/MS analysis. The MRM measurement, using fixed mass-to-charge ratios for ions passing through the front- and rear-stage mass separators, measures the intensity amount) of a particular product ion produced from a particular precursor ion. A set of this precursor ion and product ion is called MRM transition.
The MRM measurement, when performed for a target compound, requires an MRM measurement condition to be determined and set beforehand. Conventionally, an analyst determines the MRM measurement condition referring to a compound database in which one or more candidates of MRM measurement condition are stored for each of numerous compounds. An MRM measurement condition candidate includes an MRM transition and a value of dissociation energy (also called collision energy or CE).
In the compound database are stored selected measurement conditions that allow high-sensitivity detection of product ions based on results of exhaustive preliminary measurements of standard samples prepared from compounds which are performed under conditions that differ in at least one of the MRM transition and the dissociation energy value. Therefore, an MRM measurement condition suitable for a target compound may be determined with reference to the compound database, and measurement performed under the MRM measurement condition thus determined allows high-sensitivity detection of the product ions of the target compound (for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).